Bento

A bento box is a meal that has several small dishes, and the boxes sometimes have different layers that nestle together or are one box with a variety of small containers that can be added to compartmentalize the meal so your foods don't all get mixed together. I've read that the traditional Japanese bentos tend to have a container of rice, some fruit, some sort of vegetable dish, and finger foods like tamagoyaki, hard boiled eggs, etc. They are to pack your lunches in, but I think that the idea could be applied to any meal, even if it's not in a box.

Photo from amazon.com the Yum Yum Bento Box book

Living alone, my meals have become ridiculously simple. They're tasty, but rather dull looking, and even when they're tasty, I just don't enjoy them anymore. I don't have a usable table, and my dishes are bland. I have been putting together something simple and then just eating it at the computer. For breakfast, I'll have a rice ball or two, miso soup, and an egg on the side. For lunch, I've been having a sandwich with an apple and some fruit, and for dinner, I've been having pasta, a salad, and eggs. I just don't seem to be interested in spending all that time in the kitchen to make something just for myself. It doesn't feel worth the effort. I've been snacking on cream of wheat or dumplings made from bisquick. I make all different types of eggs (hard boiled, egg salad, tamagoyaki, poached eggs mixed into rice, etc., scrambled with different seasonings, etc.), but even that gets old. I sometimes add some variety by getting the Trader Joes edamame tofu nuggets (If you haven't tried them, go get some! They're awesome!)

These simple meals are not causing me to lose weight (which wasn't my intention), but they are leaving me feeling rather blah about my meals and craving cookies and sweets and other "more interesting" foods. Every trip to Trader Joes leaves me fighting with myself to not buy their delightful peanut butter cups, a cake, or something else that will let me mix-up my meals. I remind myself that the bread that I purchase is interesting, that I have roasted red peppers, a variety of condiments, and whatever veggies are in the house so I can make all different types of sandwiches, or that hummus on my salad is a delightful change, but it's just not enough.

This has left me thinking about ways to make my simple meals more attractive, and that reminded me about bento boxes. Several years ago, I began reading Jennifer's Vegan Lunchbox Blog.  I was fascinated with the really bento lunches she would make for her son, and I loved that they were vegan (I don't eat meat very often). I've recently become fascinated with bentos again, so I looked her back up again. Jennifer has written two books cataloging basic bento meals (I hadn't realized she'd published a second one), but she's not the only bento box book author. Some of the bento box books are so detailed and offer some adorable and nutritional meals. There are so many books on the market right now!

One thing that several bento bloggers have noted is that when you buy a bento box, it might appear to be too small for your lunch, but if you fill them with healthier foods, you will be quite satisfied.  For example, instead of adding cheetos to your lunch, add sliced vegetables. The veggies take up less room, are more filling, and have a positive nutritional value.

I am looking at the Mr. Bento.

Photo from EpicSelf

Mr. Bento's not as attractive as some of the bento boxes out there, but it's convenient, and most important to me, it can hold wet foods, even soup. Mr. Bento is larger than many of the bento boxes, but I would rather have an empty container then not enough space for my meals. I am about to start working 70 hour work weeks. This means that I'll probably want to have two meals, or at least more afternoon snacks, at work. I ride a motorcycle to work, so I need something that is absolutely leak-proof because backpacks are jostled about the contents often do not stay upright.

There are quite a few bento accessories out there . Of course, I want these items so that I, too, can have adorable lunches, but I'll stick with buying the bento box for now. http://www.allthingsforsale.com/ has a very large selection of cute bento accessories. A few of the items they sell include silicon cups shaped like animals to partition your food with, rice ball molds so your rice balls can come in shapes instead of being round or triangular like the ones made by hand, and vegetable cutters so you can make fun-shaped vegetables. I have a rather large list of items I want from this site, including some adorable dressing containers so my salads won't get soggy.

Mr. Bento comes with a spork, and sporks have never been my favorite utensils. So I want to get the portable utensils and case.  I'd like to get the really cute chopsticks and forks that have carry cases, but this case will be more useful. Such a shame, the black cat fork and case is so cute!

Photo from Allthingsforsale.com

So I'm jumping on the bento bandwagon a bit late (or at least it seems that way as I peruse websites), but I think it will be fun.